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Episodes 7-9 in the twelve episode series.
Episode Seven – Swinging with Change, 1940 – 1942:
As the 40s begin, jazz is changing. A small band of young musicians, led by the trumpet virtuoso Dizzy Gillespie and the brilliant saxophonist, Charlie Parker, have discovered a new way of playing – fast, intricate, exhilarating and sometimes chaotic. When America enters World War II, jazz is part of the arsenal with big band music boosting morale both at home and abroad. Duke Ellington teamed up with his musical soul-mate Billie Strayhorn and together they created some of Ellington’s most memorable recordings.
Episode Eight – Dedicated to Chaos, 1943 – 1945:
Jazz is banned in nazi-occupied Europe but great musicians like the gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt continue to play, turning the music into a symbol of freedom. For many black Americans however, that sound has a hollow ring. Segregated at home and in uniform, they find themselves fighting for liberties their own country denies them. Louis Jordan popularises a music that will come to be called “rhythm and blues”, and Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie create an explosion of their own – bebop!
Episode Nine – Risk, 1945 – 1949:
The post-war years bring America to a level of prosperity unimaginable a decade before but the Cold War threat makes these anxious years as well. In jazz, this underlying tension is reflected in the broken rhythms and dissonant melodies of bebop, and in the troubled life of its biggest star, Charlie Parker. While Louis Armstrong forms the “All Stars” and plays the old standards he loves, promoter Norman Granz breaks down racial barriers by insisting on equal treatment for all his musicians.
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